


Bridal Waltz

by Repeatinglitanies



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Don’t copy to another site, F/M, historical setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:34:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Repeatinglitanies/pseuds/Repeatinglitanies
Summary: Fiveya Week Day 2 Prompt: Dancing/TrainingHer foster mother, Grace, hoped that Vanya would finally make friends during the harvest celebration. Vanya wasn’t as optimistic.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73
Collections: fiveya week (round 2)





	Bridal Waltz

When the village elders presented her with a trousseau of linen and silk, half from the village and the other half from her would-be bridegroom, it should have been the happiest day of Vanya’s life. Never in her wildest dreams could she ever expect such a token of supposedly high esteem ever being presented to a hapless orphan such as herself.

Some of the villagers had always considered her to be the unluckiest girl to have ever lived given how she lost relatives in quick succession. With her mother having died in childbirth, Vanya’s father decided to travel while leaving her in the care of her grandparents. 

Months later, a villager found her father’s body near the heart of the forest. The state of his corpse made it unclear if he had killed himself or was attacked by someone or something.

Within the next few years, Vanya’s grandparents passed away. Some would say it was simply a natural progression of things. After all, they were old, no longer at the peak of health.

But others, the villagers that went out of their way to avoid her, saw it differently. They considered Vanya to be a harbinger of misfortune. If they had their way, Vanya would have been flung to the deepest, darkest parts of the woods and left there. It didn’t matter if Vanya became prey to the creatures that inhabited the forest or if she starved and died, as long as Vanya was far enough away to ensure her misfortune did not spread to the other villagers.

Needless to say, their children refused to associate with her. At best, Vanya was ignored. At worst, Vanya had been locked and starved underground for hours until Grace found her. Or alternatively, had stones, rotten fruit and even feces thrown at her.

There had been a part of her that wanted to scream and shout, to fight back and make the others feel the pain she had felt at their rejection and hate, to explain that her existence did not cause bad things to happen. And at first, she had indulged that impulse.

But all it had done was make the other children want to hurt her more.

Grace, her foster mother and the only villager who was willing to take her in, had advised her to be the better person, to make an effort and show the others that she was just like them. One who helped others when they were hurt or down on their luck. One who could be just as carefree and lively as any other child.

If Vanya did that, the other children will eventually understand that their parents were simply mistaken. And they will one day accept her.

It was easier said than done though. Because Vanya had no idea how to be like the other children. Any attempts to approach the others or to offer a helping hand ended in either the others running away or Vanya being chased away.

Thus, Vanya never did learn how to play games or to interact with other children her age. She spent most of her days helping Grace with household chores. Under Grace’s tutelage, Vanya learned how to maintain a clean household as well as prepare food and tend her small herb garden. She learned qualities to look for when buying meat and fish from the market and when she could bargain down the price. 

But what Vanya most enjoyed was learning how to weave, sew and embroider. Simply because she enjoyed being of use and spending time with the one person who loved her. 

With her even stitches, attention to detail and eye for beauty, Grace was the best and people from as far as the cities would come to have dresses, shawls and other clothing made. Recently, Grace had agreed to more orders. Which was strange given that Vanya couldn’t think of any reason why her foster mother needed the money.

They were neither in debt nor in need of any necessities.

But Grace wouldn’t tell her. All she would say was that it was a surprise, which left Vanya feeling curious and stubborn. No matter how much Grace insisted she take a break, Vanya refused. 

Grace clearly needed help to fulfill the increase in demand of her skills. And since Vanya didn’t have anything better to do (Vanya had no friends to speak of and no incentive to go to talk to neighbors), she reasoned that she might as well help Grace. Besides, Vanya has grown so skilled at the loom that she could literally weave with her eyes closed. 

To Vanya, it was all in the rhythm and the beat, the sound that the loom and the threads made as they all came together to make cloth. There had been times when she had even operated the loom in the dark of night (without even a candle). But the last time Grace had caught her, Vanya was made to promise never to do it again.

Partly because Vanya needed rest and partly because if the villagers ever learned of this, they’d think Vanya was a witch, giving them more excuses to hate her.

Then the day came when Grace brought home the finest bolt of cloth Vanya had ever touched. Grace called it silk. And Vanya knew this was the reason Grace had taken on more work and had been saving so much. 

She felt tears threatening to trickle out of her eyes at the realization. Vanya knew that Grace loved her. And had sacrificed a lot in order to care for her. But never in Vanya’s wildest dreams did she ever imagine her foster mother would go to such trouble and expense just for her.

The cloth was for Vanya’s harvest celebration dress.

Every year, after everyone from the three villages have finished reaping the year’s harvest, one day would be set aside for a celebration. There would be the usual feasts and merriments expected as people from the surrounding villages gather around the Hill to celebrate. 

There was only ever one Hill that everyone knew about. It was the one that shadowed the Pole, the same one all unmarried young girls and women danced around on the day after the completion of the harvest, preferably in the arms of their betrothed or sweethearts. But these days, unattached people were also welcome. 

Grace had told Vanya that she had met most of her friends from neighbouring villages by participating. Left unsaid was the hope that Vanya found people her age outside the village of her birth, whose inhabitants mostly kept themselves closed off from her. 

At thirteen, Vanya was considered ready to participate.

No one knew when or who erected the Pole or how the tradition of dancing around it had started. But by then, no one really cared. To all the villagers, dancing around the Pole to celebrate a successful harvest was an integral part of their lives. 

And without fail, they have kept the tradition going. No one thought to do otherwise.

As to whether dancing around the Pole would actually gain her any friends, Vanya had her doubts. But Grace’s optimism had a way of being infectious. So much so, that Vanya started to hope. 

Vanya didn’t even dance, much more learn the traditional steps all the other children had been taught in preparation for the day they’d be allowed to join the dance. The elder in charge of teaching the children didn’t like Vanya much. 

Grace had been angry on Vanya’s behalf. But there was nothing she could do to compel the elder. Which left Grace to teach Vanya herself.

Vanya thought that it wasn’t so bad. To her, it was better to have Grace show her the steps within the confines of their house instead of having to learn under the harsh elder in the midst of the other village children who had been nothing but horrible to her. No doubt, they’d make her life unbearable if they were forced to learn with Vanya.

The problem, at least in Grace’s mind, was that the dance was best learned with a group of other people just as how dancing around the Pole would be done in the presence of countless other dancers making their rotations. The sadness in her foster mother’s eyes made Vanya feel guilty. She should have done more to get the other children to accept her. Now, Grace was worrying about her when she had so much work to do.

At first, Vanya had thought to live with the guilt of having to burden her foster mother in such a way. But after a few days of seeing the sad look in Grace’s eyes when she thought Vanya wasn’t looking, Vanya had decided to get some space. 

That came as a pleasant surprise for Grace. In her concern for Vanya, Grace had always encouraged her to go outside to play with the other children. And Vanya might have led her foster mother to believe that she was going to try to get along with the other children. 

Of course, Vanya wasn’t planning to do that at all. She had already given up on making overtures of friendship when she knew it would only get rejected.

But she was still hoping that the harvest day celebration could help her meet new people who had not been tainted by the villagers’ superstition and prejudice. But if her fears proved true and she still ended up without friends, then at least she could enjoy the harvest day dance even if she was all by herself. 

Grace told her that she was a quick study. But Vanya still felt the need to practice more. Her lessons with her foster mother didn’t feel enough. And yet, Vanya didn’t want to remind Grace of her worry over Vanya’s isolation from the village. 

So instead of the spot by the nearby brook where all the village children preferred to play, Vanya decided to go to the woods. It had the perfect place for her to practice alone. She was confident that no one would interrupt her there. No one had done so before. And she knew that no one would do so now. 

Vanya could always sense when there was someone near. And so far, her secluded spot had remained untouched by other villagers.

Then again, the people of the village feared the woods even more than they feared whatever misfortune that they thought surrounded Vanya. This wasn’t to say they never entered the forest. Just that they limited their visits to the forest borders when they needed firewood. They never went in to hunt. At least to Vanya’s knowledge. No one from the village dared go in deeper unless they had no one and nothing else to turn to. 

Vanya was the only exception. 

To her, there was a certain peace to be found in the woods. She didn’t feel as hunted or vulnerable there as she did when in the village outside Grace’s home. It was as if the forest was the place where she truly belonged, with its lush greenery, the sound of water flowing and leaves rustling in the wind.

Still, living in the village meant that she had to be careful when going in the forest. If anyone else saw her entering and leaving it, Vanya didn’t want to know how the village would react. But that was a lie. She knew that at best, there would be grumbling. At worst, it could turn violent. And not even the village’s respect for Grace could stop them from doing their worst on Vanya.

But everyone was already busying themselves with the upcoming celebrations even though it was still well into the summer. So thankfully, Vanya was beneath their notice. And she could probably dance in peace until she felt each step and movement follow the next in almost seamless precision.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan.

No sooner had she started the first step when she heard a sound foreign to the forest she had grown up in. It was a cry for help. Though, to be more accurate, the voice had an imperious tone that made it sound more like a command. Nevertheless, Vanya had to stare in disbelief.

The general direction the voice had come from was in the deepest part of the forest, dense with trees of towering sizes, thorny bushes and creeping vines. If there had once been a path to that area, it was long gone, covered by earth, roots and leaves. Only someone truly determined to see what lay inside the very heart of the forest would attempt to hack off roots and branches. Or if an axe or blade was in short supply, find the few spaces left by the ever growing trees.

Vanya could find it easily through the sound of the wind making its way out of the heart of the forest. But she never attempted it. There had always been something eerie about the relative silence of that part of the forest that made even Vanya wary of approaching it. Before that call for help, all Vanya could hear from that direction was the wind. That and the trees. 

There were no chirping of birds, no deer munching on the greenery, no howling wolves, no growling bear, not even the flapping of butterfly wings or the song of cicadas. It was as if any living thing that could flee from the deepest part of the forest had done so, never to come back.

What sort of person would have dared go in there? Most likely a stranger in this part of the world. And whoever this stranger may be, it was clear to Vanya that he needed help.

Grace would have told her to go to the villagers for help. However, no one from the village would have willingly offered her aid, especially not to go deep into the forest. Vanya knew Grace wouldn’t think twice about going with her. But Vanya didn’t feel right taking her foster mother there. It was dangerous.

She didn’t have definitive proof. But that didn’t keep Vanya from the belief it was especially harmful for Grace. Besides, the desperation in that voice became ever more clearer the longer she waited. Vanya didn’t know what caused it. But she couldn’t risk waiting until it was too late to save the stranger. One that sounded no older than she did.

So after taking a deep breath, Vanya tied her shawl closer to her body and hugged her pack to her as she carefully made her way inside a place she had never before dared to venture.

It was still the middle of the afternoon. But the trees in these parts were dense enough to almost block out the sun. It didn’t matter to Vanya though. As if by some primal instinct, she closed her eyes and used the voice to guide her on where she needed to go. Her path was steady, as each step brought her nearer to her destination without stumbling. Somehow, an image formed in her head, giving her an accurate picture of what her surroundings looked like even with eyes fully shut. 

“GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

The voice was louder now. Which means the stranger was close. Vanya hoped that she was enough to help him. Because she couldn’t imagine any of the other villagers believing her.

Suddenly, the image in her mind disappeared. There was still a copse that separated her from the stranger. But strangely, no matter how much she tried, the image that could have mapped out his exact location would not appear in her mind. It was as if there was an actual wall separating her from the stranger even though, with eyes open, she could see spaces she could push through to get to him.

And yet, when she tried to move past the trees, Vanya found herself unable to. She tried again. Only to be rebuffed. 

What was happening?

“Hello? Are you all right?” Vanya winced. Of course he wasn’t all right. But the words formed and were said before she could stop them.

There was a brief silence before the voice became softer.

“You can hear me?” 

Funny, with the volume he used earlier, Vanya expected the voice to have grown hoarse. 

“Y-Yes. Are you hurt? I tried going to you but I can’t.”

Vanya heard him let out a long, tired sigh. He was exhausted. But his breathing and heartbeat went faster. The stranger was excited and determined. Somehow, she knew that the stranger was confident that he could get out of his predicament.

“It’s all right. I’m just trapped. Can you do something for me?”

His voice was utterly calm now, with an added artificial sweetness to it. Vanya didn’t much like that because it sounded as if he was pretending to be nice just to get her to do what he wanted. 

She chided herself for thinking ill of a boy she hadn’t even properly met. Speaking gently or kindly might not come naturally to him so he would resort to trying to fake it in hopes that someone would be more inclined to help him.

“What is it? If there’s anything I can do to help you, I’d do it.”

Truth be told, Vanya would actually be relieved if he could tell her. Because she had never been in a situation like this before, where she found herself alone in a position to truly help someone, possibly even save a life. She had always had Grace with her to guide her on what she should do. But now, all this boy had to rely on was her.

“Do you see a nearby tree with an image of a snake carved on its trunk? The snake would be eating itself, so it would look like a circle more than a snake at first glance. When you find it, I want you to break a branch off of it. That’s all I need you to do.”

It was at the tip of Vanya’s tongue to ask him how it could possibly free him or even aid him in any way. But then, she noticed her surroundings getting a little darker. The sun was on its way down. And she didn’t want to waste time. There was certainty in the stranger’s voice. For now, she’d assume that he knew what he was doing. Or rather, he knew exactly how a broken branch could help his situation.

The stranger said that the tree was nearby. So Vanya didn’t have to wander off. But no matter how many times she looked, she couldn’t find an image of a circling snake.

“Are you sure the tree isn’t somewhere else? There isn’t any with a carving of a snake.”

“It’s near. There’s no way it could have been moved. Look again.”

For a brief moment, Vanya wondered if somehow, this boy was somehow in league with the other village children in an elaborate plan to trick her. It wasn’t the first time they went through all the trouble just to laugh at her expense.

If that were so, then they should have been nearby. Her sense of hearing told her otherwise. There was no one else but Vanya and the stranger for miles around the heart of the forest.

She looked up at the sky (or rather, the small bits of the sky that the forest canopy hadn’t managed to shield) to see it get darker. Vanya was thinking of asking the stranger for clearer instruction when something caught her eye.

It looked like an arc was carved into a trunk. But it could be a circle formed by a snake eating itself. A second look proved her suspicion right. She found the tree.

However, Vanya’s momentary feeling of exaltation was short-lived. The carving was at least ten feet above the ground (which explained why she had a hard time finding it) and she would need to climb higher just to reach the lowest branch, which was about as thick as her waist.

She would have to exercise muscles she rarely used in order to reach the thinner (more easily detachable) branches. 

“I found it. But you’ll have to be patient a little longer. I’ll have to climb higher up to break a branch.”

“I understand,” was all he said. This boy wasted no time on pleasantries or empathy.

Perhaps, it was for the best. The sun was setting. Grace would get worried if she didn’t get home by the time the sun had fully vanished from the sky.

So Vanya took off her shawl, put down her pack, made her way towards the tree and upon reaching it, started to climb. It had been a long time since she did this. But her body seemed to have moved automatically until she passed the carved image and made her way to the lowest branch. Her weight put enough pressure for the branch to make a mixture of a snapping and groaning sound, as if threatening a fall if she didn’t alight soon.

A threat that she studiously ignored. Vanya had already come this far. And she was determined to finish it. She just hoped following the instructions of a boy she hadn’t actually met face to face actually helps, and isn’t in fact his delusional ravings.

When she finally managed to reach the nearest twig to snap it off, Vanya instantly understood how it was the right thing to do. The animals that had been wary of this section of the forest must have sensed a shift in the air because she could hear some of them making their way back, as if to reclaim lost territory. And the eerie silence was gone.

With that, Vanya slowly made her way back down. But as soon as she moved backwards on the branch, she heard it break.

She didn’t even realize she had fallen until she was looking up at the canopies. And wondering why she wasn’t feeling the ground beneath her.

“Can I put you down now?”

The boy had somehow been freed from whatever had trapped him. And in seemingly one fell sweep, he managed to catch her before she came to harm or, more likely, fell to her death.

Suddenly she felt flustered at being carried like a bride over the threshold of her new home. When she had first seen that age-old tradition, Vanya had wondered if such a thing would ever happen for her. Not that she actually wanted to be the center of attention or be carried over a threshold. But more of having someone look at her as if she were the most fascinating creature in the world, as if she were the only thing in the world to exist in another person’s eyes.

Vanya didn’t think that would ever happen for her. But it was nice to have an echo of what that might be like with this boy looking at her as she was still in his arms. 

He had such beautiful green eyes. 

He was also covered in dirt and grime. And possibly blood. But that didn’t seem to detract from his beauty.

“Have you lost your sense of hearing?”

“N-no! I mean, yes, you can put me down.”

How embarrassing! Vanya wanted to find a hole to bury herself in. But thankfully, she found something more pressing to do. And immediately felt bad for being happy about it. 

“You’re wounded! Come this way!” 

She was careful to make sure that she was touching the sleeve of his shirt rather than his actual arm. Vanya didn’t think she could keep her cheeks from burning hotter otherwise.

It was funny how Vanya seemed to care more about the blood dripping down his arm than the boy did. But then again, the make and style of his clothes seemed to indicate that he came from nobility or from a very wealthy merchant family. Boys of those ilk didn’t go into the woods alone. They were found either in cities or in the safe walls of their family estates.

And this one certainly did not look like he belonged in a village or a forest. Perhaps he had gotten lost. Perhaps he hadn’t ever been beaten or bloodied in his life. Vanya had heard that nobles eat out of silver spoons and golden cups and lie in silk sheets. They didn’t have to work a day in their lives. And if they were sick or hurt, doctors came to them instead of the other way around. So was it truly a wonder if this boy didn’t understand that bleeding was a bad thing?

Vanya used her remaining free hand to gather her shawl and her pack. The village children’s treatment of her had become so familiar that Vanya had made sure to bring salves and ointments with her whenever she went anywhere outside the house. And for once, she was grateful for that.

Thankfully, the boy didn’t seem offended at the liberty she had taken and simply followed her to the nearby brook. When she directed him to sit down while she cleaned his wound, he simply pushed up his sleeve to give her better access.

His injury wasn’t as bad as she thought. And that was an even greater relief.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked as she was applying Grace’s homemade salve. 

“You’re hurt. Of course, I need to help you.”

By then, she was busy using her kerchief as a makeshift bandage to bother with feeling shy around him, even as she could feel his gaze focused solely on her. This may have been the first time in recent memory she had been around someone other than Grace. But having grown up with a village full of people giving her strange looks, she had learned to ignore them in favour of concentrating on whatever task was at hand. 

“Is that what it is? You want a reward then? Well, tell me what you want. And if it is within my not inconsiderable power, I’ll give it to you in exchange for saving my life.”

Vanya had to smile at that. While she didn’t appreciate his arrogant tone, it was the first time someone ever expressed gratitude. To her.

“Didn’t you also just save mine by breaking my fall? I think we’re even. So do you know how to get home from here? If not, maybe I can help you find your way.”

The boy seemed annoyed at that.

“I’m not lost. And I can’t just leave you without at least some form of payment for services rendered. Catching you does not make us even. You wouldn’t have been climbing that tree if it wasn’t for me in the first place.”

Vanya furrowed her brows. What a strange boy. But what did she know of how people with too much money and time conducted their lives?

“But there really isn’t anything I want. I have a home and a mother. We have enough to keep us fed. Thank you for the offer. But there’s really no need.”

The boy gave an exasperated sigh. Vanya found it amusing to see him rub his dirty face with his hands. Then, use those same hands to comb his hair back. And then, pace up and down only to suddenly stop in front of her.

“Look. That isn’t how this works. I owe you my life. I cannot leave until I’ve promised you something as payment.”

The stubborn set of his jaw and the determined look in his eyes made Vanya think that he was deadly serious. And he would have her stay there for as long as necessary to “repay” her. To be honest, it wouldn’t be such a big deal to stay if only the sky wasn’t getting darker. Grace would be worried about her if she came back after dark.

Vanya really had to go home. So she told him the first thing that came to mind.

“I’m practicing the celebration dance for the end of harvest. If you could be my partner for the training and the actual dance, we’ll be even.”

She expected the boy to immediately agree just so he could also leave. Or simply just give up upon hearing the preposterous request of a girl so far beneath his social standing. Instead, he motioned for her to stand up, looked her up and down, and even circled her.

All at once, Vanya was filled with anxiety. He was actually considering it. His answer shouldn’t have bothered her so much. After all, she was used to rejection. What was one more? And besides, she only asked for a dance partner to get things over with so she could get home. 

Hadn’t she? 

But now that the words had come out and couldn’t be taken back, Vanya realized that she had blurted out a deep desire within her. Because it wasn’t just Grace who wanted friends for her.

“I have no objection. To be honest, I would have proposed the same thing if you still had nothing in mind. It’s a fitting reward for the girl who saved my life. I’ll meet you here to practice for the rest of the summer. After which I’ll leave and return at the appropriate time to be your dance partner for the celebration.”

The boy had said that so matter-of-factly, as if it was simply another part of his daily routine instead of an imposition of his time and energy. 

And Vanya didn’t care. It was the happiest she had ever been in a long time.

Only when she got home did she realize that she hadn’t even asked his name.

________________________

The day she started practicing with Quintus (the boy told her to call him that), she felt so much excitement. Grace had told her that knowing the steps to the dance was enough. That she didn’t have to be the best at it to enjoy the celebration.

But Vanya wanted her every move to be as near perfect as it can be. She also wanted someone else’s opinion on her steps. Grace was too kind on her critiques. And for better or worse, Quintus was not.

The first time they started meeting to practice, he made her dance in front of him. He must have sensed that she was feeling self-conscious to perform to the best of her ability. So he made her dance all over again until he was satisfied that she had gotten rid of whatever timidity she had.

And then he gave her his honest opinion, some of which, Vanya might not have been ready to hear. But that didn’t stop her from seeing him again. And practicing. Even if the first few weeks only consisted of him watching her to give feedback and Vanya going home to wake up to sore limbs the next day.

To be honest, she enjoyed his company. Vanya liked that he took his role of helping her seriously. It must have been tiring having to watch a girl take the same steps and move almost the same way for hours on end. And yet, Quintus never once indicated that he had better things to do.

Maybe that was all that Vanya needed to start liking him. And perhaps that’s why she was very aware of how his arm felt when it finally came around her waist or of how nice he smelled (once he had cleaned himself off of the dirt and grime the first time she saw him) when he held her close to perform a couple’s dance. 

She enjoyed her time with him a little too much. And it must have been one too many twirls, but she thought she saw him smiling at her as he spun her around the forest floor.

On the last day of practice, she was truly sad to have to say goodbye to him. Vanya knew he’d be back in a few months. But still, she had gotten so used to seeing him every day that she didn’t want to go back to those days without him.

He must have sensed that too, even if he didn’t say it out loud.

And for the first time, Quintus who must be from nobility (Vanya never did get to ask him as he was always so focused on dance practice) bowed to her. As if on instinct, she bowed back.

And then he took her in her arms and danced with her until the sun had set. She’d get a scolding from Grace later. But that was all right.

“Wait for me,” he said as he touched his forehead against hers.

“Of course,” she said while trying not to cry. 

He then took her hand and brought it to his lips before he took the forest path back to where Vanya assumed to be his home was located.

_____________________

And wait she did. Grace had made a beautiful dress for her, the length of which her foster mother adjusted intending to unstitch the extra fabric from her dress when Vanya got taller. But Vanya remained the same height.

And Quintus never came.

At first, she danced alone, thinking that he’ll come soon enough. Maybe surprise Vanya while she was in the middle of a spin. But when one by one, the revellers decided to go home until all that was left were Vanya and Grace, she had to give up waiting. 

It occurred to Vanya that Quintus never told her he would come to that year’s celebration. So perhaps he would come next year, or so she hoped.

But he didn’t. Not the following year or the year after that.

In time, Vanya learned to give up waiting for him. She still remembered him every harvest day celebration. Even though he never came, his help with her dancing actually bore fruit. Vanya did attract attention. And she even found friends from the nearby villages. At first they were simply impressed with her dancing. But in time, after many visits with Grace to their villages, they appreciated her for herself.

It gave her the chance to know Allison, Luther, Diego, Klaus and Ben better. And as it so happened, Luther and Diego had reputations as brawlers. The knowledge that she was friends with them kept the children of her village from tormenting her from then on.

__________________

And then time passed, about ten years since the day she met Quintus. Grace had passed away, leaving her house to Vanya. 

She would have wished to stay there forever. But without Grace, it seemed that her time in the village of her birth would be coming to an end. No one dared harm her openly. But on more than one occasion, she found items stolen from her home. One day, she even found her garden destroyed.

Then, the village elders started charging fees and taxes. It wouldn’t have been such a big issue had they decided to charge all the villagers fairly. But with Vanya still being unmarried and business being slow, she didn’t have enough funds to pay “her dues” as the elders put it. Something which caused her countless sleepless nights. If she couldn’t pay, she would be driven out of her home. And no one in her village would lift a finger to stop it.

Allison advised her to simply leave and stay with her. There wasn’t any point living in a place she wasn’t wanted. And Luther and Allison assured her there would always be a place for her in their home. 

But as much as Vanya would have loved being with her friends and seeing them every day, she didn’t want the temptation of staying with them indefinitely. Besides, Luther and Allison were newlyweds. It didn’t feel right to share a space with them at the moment. 

She couldn’t stay with Klaus, Ben or Diego either. But for the opposite reason. They were unmarried men. And Vanya was already a subject of speculation and scandal for being unwed at twenty-three among other things. It didn’t help that she rejected Harold, one of her childhood tormentors and the wealthiest citizen of the village. That certainly made Vanya even more unpopular in her village, who already thought of her as a spinster and a harbinger of misfortune. Now, she was viewed as seeing herself as better than the other villagers for rejecting a fine man like Harold.

To live with her male friends without marriage would simply make her the subject of gossip and scandal in another village. And even if her currently unattached friends should offer, she wouldn’t accept their proposal knowing where their hearts truly laid.

All she could do was to market her garments and hope that she would earn enough to pay her taxes. That was what this year’s dance was for. She had already made herself a new dress. And when she danced, she was sure to attract customers. Or at least she hoped so. Over the years, she had gained the notice of admirers. And she hoped the same would happen this year. Only because Grace had gotten customers who believed that her work on Vanya’s dress would gain them a husband.

So Vanya hoped that customers would come to her now, whether for similar reasons or simply because they loved her design didn’t matter. She needed the money.

That was supposed to be her plan to keep her home until she found a pouch of money with a note attached. An unknown customer had commissioned her to make a wedding dress for a woman with almost her exact measurements. 

What a strange request. But the money was more than enough to pay her fees and taxes. So she went hard at work.

That didn’t mean she abandoned her intent to market her dress on harvest day celebration. She had to have enough for next year’s dues.

By now, she was the oldest unmarried woman still participating. But Vanya no longer cared. This was the only time she could cast aside her worries, at least temporarily. And possibly gain customers. So she allowed herself to sway to the music and remember happier times.

“May I have a dance with you?”

There was something familiar about that voice that had Vanya stopping her circle around the Pole. The voice came from behind her. And for some reason, she felt a mixture of trepidation and excitement. As if her world would be turned upside down if she looked behind her to see the stranger who had just asked her for a dance.

But that was silly. How could a person and a single dance change her world completely?

So she turned around to find the person she had stopped expecting to see: Quintus. He looked older now. He hadn’t lost that smug, satisfied look on his face. But he was even more handsome as a man than he was as a boy. And a lot taller than her. 

There were so many things she wanted to tell him and ask him. Such as asking him what took him so long. And telling him that despite the hurt she felt for being made to wait, she truly treasured that summer she had with him. And she would treasure this moment, when he finally returned to keep his promise.

But there was time for words later. She took his hand and they danced. And in an instant they were thirteen again back at the heart of the forest, moving together as one with no one else watching.

When they finished a circle, Vanya decided it was time to talk. And she led him away from the Pole. Which was when she noticed the strangeness that emanated from Quintus. It wasn’t simply because he was dressed like he was nobility or at least someone of a higher status than anyone in the village.

What truly alarmed her was how everyone seemed to be ignoring them, as if a village woman dancing with a noble was a common everyday occurrence. 

Something that wasn’t possible at all. Quintus was the most finely dressed man around. And no one was paying him heed, even as he was standing in an area filled with dancers circling the pole or even as he left it. 

“Why can’t anyone else see you, Quintus?”

He smiled at her observation, as if saying “Finally, you’re beginning to understand everything.”

“You know why. The same way you can hear things from miles away. The same reason those people from your village fear and hate you. Magic. I have it. And so do you. That’s how you managed to hear me even with the heaviest magical ward.”

Vanya wanted to deny it. But in her heart, she knew that there was truth in his words. Besides, Quintus was never a good liar. Though apparently, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t obfuscate effectively.

“Is Quintus even your name?”

“It’s a name. Not my true name though I hope to reveal it to you one day. But Quintus is a name some have called me. So it would have to be good enough.”

If she was smart, she would be stepping away from him. But Vanya stood her ground. Besides, what was to stop him from following her?

“The coins. And the order for a wedding dress. Was that from you?”

“I couldn’t let you lose sleep from worry. I would have preferred killing the elders altogether. But then the other villagers would have blamed you. I don’t care about money. So they’re free to have it. And I know how much working relaxes you. So I had you make your own dress.”

For a split second, she stared at him, eyes wide and mouth fully open. If she hadn’t realized how long it stayed open, she feared she might have swallowed a fly.

“I’m not getting married, Quintus.”

“But you are. That’s what you asked for your reward.”

Vanya felt her cheeks redden. This time in indignation.

“I asked you to help me practice and be my partner at the harvest day celebration. Hardly a marriage proposal.”

The smug look on Quintus’ face made Vanya want to punch him as much as she wanted to kiss him. She blamed his dimples.

“But it is. To my kind, requesting a dance is tantamount to a proposal. And I’ve accepted. So, here I am at the appropriate time. You’re now a grown woman. I had to leave to acquire myself a fortune, to prove myself worthy of your hand. What I gave you was merely a drop in the ocean. Now that we’ve danced around the Pole, our betrothal is sealed. So all that’s left is a winter wedding.”

“No.”

“But Vanya-“

“I said no.”

They went back and forth in the same fashion until Vanya decided to continue it at home over a pot of tea, only to discover that Quintus had replaced her tea with something he called coffee instead.

And in the span of an hour, he had explained how such binding arrangements meant that if it was left unfulfilled, the magic powering it could react adversely enough to have severe consequences on both parties and everyone in their vicinity. To Quintus, it was simply an agreement between the two of them. One that he had no reason to believe she would renege on given that it was Vanya who suggested it.

But to Vanya, she just found herself in a new conundrum. To think that when the year began, all she had to worry about was losing her childhood home. 

It wasn’t that she was repulsed by the idea of marrying Quintus. Just that she wanted to get to know the man he had become in all those years they were apart.

“I don’t understand, Vanya. I can provide for you. And we enjoy each other’s company. So why can’t we be married?”

This time, it was Vanya to give a sigh. How to explain it to him? 

“I need time, Quintus. I didn’t realize that I was actually asking you to marry me.”

“And you have a few months-“

“I need more than that. Just as you need more time to tell me your true name. There will be a winter wedding. Just not this winter. Do you understand me?”

Quintus gave her a pleading look, as if he were a puppy begging for snacks. But seeing that she would not acquiesce, he eventually agreed.

“Fine. I’ll wait, Vanya. But what do we do in the meantime?”

With that, Vanya smiled.

“Tell me about what you’ve been doing for these past ten years. If we are to be married one day, I’d like to know all about you.”

Quintus smiled back. And after a sip of his coffee, he began his tale.


End file.
